The Heiress’ Return: Six Brothers at Her Beck and Call (Wynter Quinnell) novel Chapter 1981

The foreigner was just about to speak when he felt a chill pressing in on him.

His voice trembled slightly as he spoke. "No. What we mean is that this is the only ship going to Emstia, and there won't be any more for quite a while. We're in a hurry, too. The Silverfang Lord won't spare us if we can't leave."

"Go back and tell him that it's me who needs it. If he's unwilling, he can come to me himself." Isidore turned around. "Now get lost."

The foreigner had no choice but to give up and turn to leave.

After that, the black-robed figure walked back in. "My lord, did you fail to absorb it?"

Isidore nodded slightly. "This Drakevein Pendant is no ordinary item. I suspect it carries the country's fortune. Not only did I fail to absorb it, but I even lost a bit of cultivation to it."

"Huh?" The figure was shocked to hear that. "Is the Drakevein Pendant sinister?"

"It's not sinister per se." Isidore lifted his gaze as he continued, "It will take quite a bit of effort to absorb it as it has existed for a very long time."

...

At the same time, Wynter and the others had already arrived at the port. Moonlight, silvery as frost, spilled over the shipping containers, outlining cold, geometric shadows.

"Are you cold?" Dalton's low voice sounded especially clear beside her.

Wynter shook her head, her eyes fixed on the brightly lit checkpoint not far away. She said as her brows knitted slightly, "That checkpoint looks suspicious."

Dalton gave a light nod. "The checkpoint staff would check one by one if someone wanted to ship goods out. Moreover, if cultural relics are being smuggled overseas, they'd have to pass through customs."

Wynter looped her arm through his. "Let's head over. We'll just say we're a family of three who are here to shoot some footage if we run into anyone. If we happen to get caught—"

Wolf jumped in eagerly, "Play dumb!"

Dalton chuckled, and the three of them pretended to stroll along, slowly making their way toward the target area through the passageways between containers.

Rounding a corner, Wynter suddenly stopped, pulling Dalton and Wolf into the shadows between two rows of containers. "Someone's there."

They held their breath, listening to the distant sound of footsteps and voices.

"This batch has to be loaded onto the ship tomorrow morning. The boss can't wait any longer," a rough male voice said.

"Relax. The paperwork's all ready, and the people at customs have been taken care of," another voice replied with a note of pride. "It's just some ceramic handicrafts, anyway. Who's going to inspect them closely?"

The man with the rough voice laughed. "Exactly. It's because we're shipping these so-called ceramic handicrafts that we're making so much money!"

"Everything's ready. Let's grab a bite and some beer," another man said.

"There's still plenty of time. Let's go!"

Wynter and Dalton exchanged a look. After all, ceramic handicrafts were the most common cover for smuggled relics.

That was because most people didn't have the expertise to appraise antiques and couldn't tell real from fake. Claiming something was a ceramic handicraft was unlikely to raise suspicion.

This was exactly like Panzarath in Kingbourne, where countless ceramic handicrafts were on display.

If one couldn't tell the difference and asked the shopkeeper, they would give random answers with utmost confidence. Many modern reproductions would be passed off as ancient relics, supposedly worth a fortune.

As the footsteps faded into the distance, Wynter peeked out to make sure no one was around. Then, she pulled the others along, moving quickly toward a nearby warehouse.

"Also…" Wynter's brow furrowed as a thought struck her. "Isn't this Quetarin relic supposed to be on the mainland? How did it end up here?"

According to the information they had, aside from Zelwick, no other mainland locations had reported missing relics. That made Wynter wonder if it was a replica, but she quickly dismissed that line of thought.

Dalton nodded lightly. "It indeed should be on the mainland. In fact, it was on exhibition in Kingbourne. I've seen it myself."

The number of people capable of tampering with such relics was almost nonexistent.

At that thought, Wynter signaled Wolf to open more crates.

They had only just opened the first, and it was already shocking enough.

One by one, as the crates were carefully pried open, more precious relics emerged—Cerulean Ember Stallions, Emerald Discs, and Garanth Porcelain—each worth a king's ransom, and each explicitly banned from leaving the country.

Wynter's gaze deepened. "So many relics here are supposed to be stored in the mainland display cases, but I can tell these are all real after examining them. Could the ones on display in the mainland be fakes?"

"That needs to be verified," Dalton said as he lifted his gaze. "This isn't a simple relic theft anymore. This is an organized, premeditated plunder of Cascadia's cultural treasures, and insiders are switching the genuine ones for fakes."

Wynter's expression grew grave. "I'll send people to investigate. Every museum must be checked thoroughly. If this goes unnoticed, the consequences will be unthinkable."

"In the past, foreign powers had openly looted Cascadia before. Many relics are still overseas—some in private collections, and some in foreign museums that even claim they're rightfully theirs.

"To this day, only a few have been returned. Even among the 12 Celestial Beasts, the 12 bronze beasts have yet to be reunited," Dalton continued as he turned to face Wynter.

"Four are still missing," Wynter said, lifting her gaze. "We'll fight to bring them home—back into Cascadia's embrace."